Blog

T-minus 8 days! (Give or take). I'm starting to think that people don't believe that we're actually moving into a Winnebago and fleeing to Austin, TX. After all, we initially planned for a late October departure.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. How about a brief introduction?

I'm Kara. I moved into the first floor apartment above Pete's (creepy) basement apartment. Initially, he thought I was kind of snoody. And I thought he was kind of raunchy. Things changed. We've been 'dating' (if you will) for approximately a year now and decided that we wanted to become full-time RVers, a lifestyle usually reserved for the retiree population.

I'm on the right.

Awhile back (maybe June?) we started to seriously research mobile homes on craigslist, ebay, and everywhere in between. We quickly became infatuated with a little French number called the Winnebago Lesharo- they're compact, fairly efficient, with almost all the amenities we were looking for, and we weren't looking for much . We came across a couple postings for Lesharo's on craigslist in the $4-6000 range, which was completely in our budget. But it just wasn't the right time. We needed to wait until after the summer, when both of us would be finished with our jobs (and leases), and we could take serious time to do some maintenance.

So we waited. And when the time was right, we struck craigslist gold: a guy out in Warrenville, IL was selling the Winnebago Lesharo that he originally purchased for his dog (I'm serious), and had since been sitting in his driveway for two years. We went to see it, took it for a test drive and made him an offer. It was ours for $1900, about half of what we originally expected to pay. Not bad!

We became homeowners in an instant, with no mortgage! Our next concern became the 300 mile drive from Chicago to Pete's parent's house in Attica, Michigan, where we would be staying and doing maintenance until our Texas-bound departure. After some tinkering around with the asinine electrical system the French so carelessly created for the Lesharo, we took off to Michigan. Pete drove the Winnebago (which we so charmingly named Marty McFly, although we never call it that) and I drove behind him in my car, you know, in case anything major happened. Much to our luck, Marty McFly drives like a dream (considering it's age and previous owner's neglect). It can't really go faster than 65mph, but hey, what do you expect with a 4-cylinder engine? Big props to the French.

She's come a long way since we first bought her 2 1/2 months ago. Pete has done an incredible amount of work and knows that vehicle like the back of his hand. I, on the other hand, have done very little of note. But I did drive it for the first time the other day and it was a jubilant experience, indeed. Anyways, the Lesharo's gotten quite the makeover, which has included a pretty serious car wash and waxing, new wiper blades, new exterior indicator lights, several fluid changes, experimental and often-times unrewarding electrical work (do I need to mention the French again?), carpet removal, rust-resistant floor paint, a somewhat unsuccessful wallpaper stripping, a new coolant hose, a furnace fix-up (here's to hoping it doesn't blow up!), and a triple-slopping of waterproof roof paint, among other things. Probably the most exciting renovation is our bed, which Pete designed and built himself.

Before

After

At this point, we're getting pretty antsy. We've reached a stopping point on maintenance due to unfortunate arrival of snow, making our thoughts of Texas that much more enticing. We think the Winnebago's in good enough shape to depart within a week and safely make the journey South. Luckily, there's a mechanic shop in Austin that has done extensive work on Lesharo's before (a luxury, we've learned, that is extremely hard to come by), so as long as we make it there, we'll be golden.

In the meantime, we've been making the most of our time in Michigan. Pete shot two deer on Monday and we've been processing meat butcher-shop style since: skinning, cutting, sawing, grinding, marinading, packaging, etc. We're making an excessive amount of jerky, since it's the only way we can bring the meat with us in the Winnebago. We've also been selling lots of crap on craigslist. I waited anxiously for a woman to arrive yesterday so I could sell her an old, scuffed-up table for $10. But with our lack of jobs, we'll take any dollar that comes our way. That reminds me, if anyones looking for a 1970's typewriter, a small boat motor, a 2002 Buick Century or a TV/VCR combo, just holler.

Perhaps this introductory post is becoming excessive. I'll conclude. Pete and I are creating this blog as a space to share stories and stay connected with family and friends without having to tell the same stories 47 different times next Christmas or visit to Chicago. So come back often and never fear- our Winnebago experience may be frustrating at times, but it will certainly not render us this mad: